📖 Biblical Definition
Creation ex nihilo is the foundational biblical teaching that God brought all things into existence from nothing by His sovereign word. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) -- there is no mention of pre-existing material. "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible" (Hebrews 11:3). God spoke, and it was. He did not reshape chaos; He called being into existence from non-being. This establishes God's absolute sovereignty over creation: He owes nothing to anything outside Himself, and all things owe their existence entirely to Him. "For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm" (Psalm 33:9).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Webster 1828 does not contain an entry for "ex nihilo" as a Latin phrase.
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Under CREATION, Webster writes: "The act of creating; the act of causing to exist; and especially, the act of bringing this world into existence." Webster's definition assumes ex nihilo creation without using the Latin term, reflecting the Protestant commitment to God's absolute creative sovereignty.
📖 Key Scripture
• Genesis 1:1 — "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
• Hebrews 11:3 — "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."
• Psalm 33:6, 9 — "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made... For he spoke, and it came to be."
• Romans 4:17 — "God... who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist."
• Colossians 1:16 — "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Ex nihilo creation is denied by materialism, pantheism, and process theology alike.
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Secular materialism denies ex nihilo creation by asserting that matter is eternal and self-organizing. Pantheism denies it by teaching that the universe emanates from God's own substance, making creation an extension of deity rather than a distinct act of will. Process theology denies it by positing that God works with pre-existing material and is Himself evolving. Mormonism explicitly denies ex nihilo creation, teaching that God organized pre-existing matter. Each of these denials has the same result: it diminishes God's absolute sovereignty and independence. If God did not create from nothing, then something exists independently of God, and He is not truly Lord over all. Ex nihilo is not a philosophical nicety; it is the foundation of all theology proper.
Usage
• "Ex nihilo creation means God needed no raw materials -- He spoke the universe into existence from nothing by the sheer power of His word."
• "Every cosmogony that posits eternal matter is a denial of ex nihilo and therefore a denial of God's absolute sovereignty."
• "Hebrews 11:3 is the clearest statement of ex nihilo in the New Testament -- what is seen was not made from things that are visible."